Clean Eating

I read Oxygen magazine from time to time to get workout tips. The magazine has some good nutrition tips as well. They often make reference to a way of eating called "Clean Eating". I did some quick research on it a while back and I decided it would be too challenging for me. It requires the removal of all processed foods (refined sugars, saturated/trans fats, overly processed foods) from your diet. It sounded like a good idea but I did not think it was realistic for me. So I would just ignore the clean eating tips in the mag.

I came across Clean Eating Magazine while getting my hair done this past weekend and after reading it carefully I realized that Clean Eating may not be so diffcult after all. You swap out refined flour and sugar for whole grains and natural sweetners (honey, agave nectar). It appears there are ways to get around eating processed foods and still enjoying your food. Clean Eating mag offers great tips and several meal plans for eating clean.

Clean Eating has tons of health benefits because you remove the bad fats, sugars, and additives from your diets. I am still doing my research and figuring out how I can move to a Clean Eating lifestyle. I will keep you all posted as I move to clean eating.

Eating Clean Resources:

Eat Clean Mag

Eat Clean Blogs

Eat Clean Book

Comment!!

Have you heard of Clean Eating??

Are you a Clean Eater?

Read and Re-read Your Food Labels!

So I consider myself to be pretty health conscious. I look at food labels to make sure there is not an excessive amounts of salt or fat and that their is some nutritional value in the product. I'm always looking out for healthy snacks. I thought Triscuits fell into the (relatively) healthy snack category. The original brand has few ingredients wheat , salt, and oil. I decided to try some of other other varieties (Garlic and Rosemary & Olive Oil) for a little more flavor. Today I randomly decided to look at the ingredients again and notice that these versions have mono sodium glutamate aka MSG. In parentheses they refer to it as a flavor enhancer. I know there has been some controversy on the effects of MSG but according to the Mayo Clinic it has neurotoxic effects. MSG is an unnecessary food additive. Especially considering that Whole Foods offers a generic brand (365 brand) that taste just as good minus the MSG and hydrogenated oil. Also, I picked up a box of the Woven wheat brand today it was around $2.

Anyway, this is a lesson learned for me. So ladies, please take the time to read your nutrition labels. Pay particular attention to the fat, sodium, fiber, protein, and the Ingredients!

For those of you that have made read labels a habit, here are some tips on reading food labels:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation/UCM078889.htm

Do you pay attention to food labels?

How do you avoid food additives like MSG?

Drink your Cosmo's and Keep the Weight Off!

Memorial Day weekend will be upon us soon. That means summertime is just around the corner. Summertime equals outside festivities such as happy hours on the patio, bbq's, weddings, birthdays, or girls night out (Sex and the City 2 is coming up ladies, cosmo's?). All of these festivities usually involve alcohol intake.

Not everyone likes to drink. But if you're like me, you enjoy a glass of wine, a cosmo, perhaps a light beer, etc. to lift your spirits and relax/unwind from the day-to-day.

But if you're trying to lose weight, how do you do the happy hours and parties without sabotaging your efforts and success?


Here are a few tips that I use to keep one night mess up weeks of good work:

-Be the talk of the party! Conversate with people. Talking means you'll have less time to drink. Instead of drinking two drinks, I'll end up only drinking one.
-I usually get a diet coke and rum or a light beer. I know how many calories they have no matter where I go. So, do your research, figure out which drinks you love and what they are worth. The internet can provide options for those heavy cal drinks as well.
-Dance the night away. If you have the opportunity to shake that thing, do it! Not only will you drink less but you'll burn of calories as well.


Even if you're not doing Weight Watchers, you can use this handy Cocktail Cheat Sheet. Roughly, every point is 50 calories, so do the math to figure out what your favorite drink adds up to.


How do you enjoy your cocktails without adding inches to your waistline?